Counting Everyone

Does it make sense to spend $14.7 billion (the estimated cost of the
2010 Census) every 10 years trying to get each and every household in
the United States to fill out a census form? Probably not. There is a
more efficient alternative, but it requires the use of statistical sampling
and, presumably, bipartisan support for a constitutional amendment to
update the meaning of "enumerate." Too bad the same conservatives who
complain about the cost of the census also reject that idea out of hand.

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